Japan to cut reliance on bond sales

Japan plans to cut its reliance on government bonds, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday in a policy speech ahead of a budget that will raise more money through taxes than bond sales.

Abe pledged he would not keep stimulus spending “forever” as the Liberal Democratic party unveiled its draft budget aimed at overhauling the trend in the last four years, when the government relied on selling bonds to raise money.

“We can’t continue fiscal spending forever,” Abe told parliament at the opening of a new session. “We will draw up and implement a growth strategy that will see private investment and consumption grow sustainably”.

“The greatest and most urgent challenge for our country is revival of the economy. We can’t exit from deflation and from a high yen by keeping the past measures,” he said.